The Cancer Archetype

Before the Sun leaves Cancer and enters Leo tonight, I want to be with the Cancer archetype a little. Some images associated with Cancer, such as the turtle (who carries its home on its back) and the great mother — are all about the nurturing, safety, and comfort we associate with the sweetness of feeling at home. Having a place to call home — where we don’t have to be “on,” where we can gently remove any personas and just be — is so utterly important and basic to a solid sense of well-being that sometimes we take it for granted. Any success “out there” is dependent on having a place to come from and return to for rest and rejuvenation. A given sign of the zodiac follows the sign before it and grows out of it, is its fulfillment and completion in a sense, and produces a wholeness-making circle of the 12 signs. So Leo, which follows Cancer, is able to walk out all shiny and ready for creative self-expression after Cancer has taken care of basic needs and created a stable home from which to emerge.

“I feel for myself that being at home happens whenever I enter into the vibration of feeling completely, 100% invited to be what I am, to feel what I am, to abide in the sense of safety and wholeness in whatever is being experienced. An unconditional acceptance that I belong, I am loved. I am held.” ~Ari Moshe

The transition from Virgo to Libra

The Sun entered Libra on 9/22 to stay for a month. In the progression through the zodiac, the transition from the Virgo archetype to the Libra one is a significant shift. The signs from Aries to Virgo represent a process of self-development primarily, whereas the signs from Libra to Pisces represent partnerships and social/worldly affairs. The theme of Virgo (the Virgin – keep in mind the ancient meaning of virgin was “a woman unto herself”) is about becoming more whole in oneself and by oneself. This process serves as underpinning for an association or partnering that may evolve out of it. The nature of the self-adjustments and self-improvements that occur in Virgo will play a determining role in the nature of the association or partnering that may form in Libra, the sign that follows. Virgo gives opportunities to prepare oneself to become as whole as possible before entering into partnership. Now as the Sun has entered Libra, consciousness may become more aware of inherent connections that exist and the sense of an innate unity with a certain other or others. Moreover, the natural propensity of Libra is to attempt to see life though the others perspective. This is a beautiful quality, often lacking in our world, but it can be overdone if it is to the point of losing track of ones own truth. That is why Balance, balance between self and other, is an ever important practice for Libra people and for all of us during Libra times.

What each sign finds most distressing:

(The following is not comprehensive — just some observations. And it is important to recognize that no one is a pure archetype. The Sun sign holds a central place in the personality but other important factors in the birth chart — especially the rising sign, the Moon sign, and strongly placed planets — combine to make us each unique and complex.)

Aries ♈: to be held back from acting on an impulse, to be suppressed, to be prevented from expressing contentious and/or passionate energies, to be slowed down.

Taurus ♉: to be rushed, lack of financial or emotional security, to be deprived of touch, to be deprived of beautiful sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures.

Gemini ♊: boredom, lack of information, being “out of the loop” or cut off from communication, pressure to commit to one thing, having to stay still.

Cancer ♋: no one to nurture and protect, no one to be nurtured and protected by, thwarted from cultivating one’s “baby,” not having a safe and comfortable home.

Leo ♌: no loving audience, not being seen, not being appreciated, not being adored, not enough attention, cold-heartedness.

Libra ♎: having to go it alone with no one to bounce off of, having to make a quick decision without being able to weigh the pros and cons, that which is unjust or unfair, insensitivity, lack of empathy, inconsideration, ugliness.

In honor of the Moon conjunct Jupiter in Taurus tonight...

Debra Silverman acts out all the archetypes of the zodiac. Here is Taurus in honor of tonight’s Moon in this fixed earth sign. Also, the Moon is conjunct Jupiter in Taurus tonight (it’s an absolutely beautiful sky with the Moon, Jupiter, and Venus visible). With these dramatized signs of the zodiac, it’s important to remember that no one is a pure archetype. The Sun sign is a vital part of who we are, but we are complex and may also relate to our Moon sign, rising sign, or the archetypes associated with planets that are tightly conjunct our Sun, Moon, or Ascendant, for example.

The Sabian Symbols

The Sabian Symbols are 360 symbolic vignettes each corresponding to a degree of the zodiac. Many astrologers use them in chart interpretation to get a richer sense of meaning for any important planet or point in a chart, such as the Sun, Moon, or Ascendant. For instance, when I was born, the Sun was at 5º41’ Leo. The corresponding Sabian for my Sun is:

Leo 6*: A sweet old-fashioned belle, and a pert and attractive modern flapper, stand in mutual envy of each other.

From the time I was a child and my mother told me this was the symbol for my Sun, it always resonated deeply. As I got older and came to understand my chart as a whole, I began to see how not only did it capture the essence of my core (the Sun), but interestingly it also captured other prominent themes in my chart, such as my Libra Ascendent (balancing opposites, seeing the other side of the story, and a focus on aesthetics etc), my Sun conjunct Saturn (Saturn represents tradition, and therefore is “old-fashioned”) and my Sun/Saturn square Uranus (Uranus represents breaking free from old structures, and therefore fits “a modern flapper.” In some mystical way, the specific Sabian symbol for the degree of my Leo Sun acts as a holon** for my whole chart. Not everyone resonates as obviously and spontaneously with their Sabians; sometimes it takes some contemplation to penetrate into the meaning of the symbol. Read more...

I happen to use this longer, more poetic version of the Sabians, because they seem to hold more meaning for me, personally. But there is a concise version that is more well known. In that version the equivalent of my Sun is:

Leo 6: An old fashioned ‘consevative’ woman is confronted by an up-to-date girl.

I dont feel this version captures my essence as well, but some feel the concise version is the more original version. To look up the Sabian Symbols in this version, click here.

Regarding the different versions of the Sabian Symbols, here is an excerpt from Diane Applebaum:

“The story of how the Sabian Symbols came about will be found in the second chapter of Part One in Dane Rudhyars ‘An Astrological Mandala.’ Briefly put, on a day in 1925 Marc Edmund Jones and a well-known psychic, Elsie Wheeler, sat in a quiet area of a San Diego Park, yet a spot not far from the bustling world. He had a stack of 360 index cards, each with a degree of the zodiac written on it. Jones would shuffle the pile, and then, as he drew an index card, without either of them seeing which degree was written on it, Wheeler communicated a scene that came before her minds eye. In connection with each card, Jones ‘made a brief pen notation of what she said.’

[One version of the Sabians is the concise wording that Jones jotted down on the notecards and another is a more expanded version that Jones later wrote.]

Although Jones felt moved to repudiate this later version, it is also said that early on he doubted the validity of the Sabians in general. Nevertheless, a circle of astrologers around him began working with the vignettes and found them uncannily accurate and informing. Which version is the most ‘credible I leave up to the reader to choose. In my experience the different versions work for different people. In connection with this, my mind always goes to the point in the story of events in the park that day in which Jones is said to have felt that one of the symbols that Wheeler had seen internally was incorrect. He asked Wheeler, who he apparently felt was channeling a representative of the ancient Mesopotamian brotherhood with whom this ancient system of symbols had abided, to inquire about the accuracy of this symbol. After making the inquiry Wheeler conveyed to Jones that the Brother’s answer was to the effect that it was up to Jones to discover.

I believe that this detail in the series of events indicates a significant aspect of the event that took place at that momentous point in time, and should not be discounted as an irrelevant detail or of no account. The meaning or meanings of this occurrence are not something minor or inconsequential to be cast aside as simply inscrutable or without implication to the subsequent unfolding of the phenomenon of the Sabians coming forth to be formulated. It is my opinion that that question and answer indicated the next phase after the park event — of bringing the conception to birth. The uncertainty that was expressed by Jones and the question he put forth are part of the profound and esoteric living dynamics of the advent of these symbols in their reappearance, now in the modern day world. As they unfold in this ‘incarnation,’ the symbols are ‘stamped’ with this seed-developmental phase, much as a natal chart illustrates dynamics that become stamped upon the incarnating soul at the moment of its first breath in this life, and the unfolding shown by the progressions.

It may be noted that it was Jones who wrote down the particular words on the note cards, the brief descriptions. I wonder what all Wheeler said in connection with each card. And even if the case may be that she spoke only those few words which he wrote on each card, the Brother may have implied that Jones had a designated destined role to play in the rich and more descriptive formulation and presentation of the Symbols to the modern day world.

Each version has adherents and resonates with intuitive knowing and insight. Each may serve as a tool that has the potential to spark inspired and accurate imagination in different people. The version I work with is the longer more descriptive formulations which Jones circulated not in book form but in manuscript form. They are titled Lecture-Lessons, and, according to the dates at the tops of the pages, were issued between May 18, 1931 and November 9, 1931.”

*Always round up to the next degree when working with the symbols. Dane Rudhyar’s explanation: “if the symbol is referred to the position of a planet in an astrological chart, Cancer 5º begins at 4º 1” (four degrees and one second or minute) and ends with Cancer 4º59’59”; just as the first year (year number 1) of a life begins at birth and ends with the first birthday. We are dealing with a process, and ‘Phase One’ starts the very moment the process begins.”

**A holon is something that is simultaneously a whole and a part (Wikipedia).

We all have all 12 archetypes (signs) of the zodiac in us.

We all have all 12 archetypes (signs) of the zodiac in us. We are complex multidimensional beings. The Sun (identity, purpose), Moon (emotional nature & predisposition), and rising sign (persona, personality) are 3 of the prominent components of the psyche, but there is also the private self, the public self, & the self one becomes in intimate relationships, for instance. All this is illustrated in the birth chart.

The Sabian Symbols

The Sabian Symbols are 360 symbolic vignettes each corresponding to a degree of the zodiac. All of the planets travel through the zodiac, but it can be convenient to look at the Sun, for in its 365 day cycle it spends approx 1 day per Sabian over the course of the year. Perceiving the corresponding Sabian that the Sun is in each day is a powerful way of tuning into the energy of the day.

Also, the degree the Sun was in on the day of birth and the corresponding Sabian is often a key symbol for understanding the core essence of that person. The symbols for the degrees of the other planets and points in a chart can also be useful.

*Please note: You always round up to the next degree when working with the symbols. Here is an explanation about that from Dane Rudhyar, “if the symbol is referred to the position of a planet in an astrological chart, Cancer 5º begins at 4º 1” (four degrees and one second or minute) and ends with Cancer 4º5959”; just as the first year (year number 1) of a life begins at birth and ends with the first birthday. We are dealing with a process, and ‘Phase One starts the very moment the process begins.”